Photo credit: © 2005 www.jensenstudiosnyc.com

Art Bailey's Orkestra Popilar

Note there are no longer regular Klezmer Cafe concerts with Art Bailey's Orkestra Popilar at ACI.

Bailey says, "Our instrumentation creates an intimate sonic space that draws in the listener. We also include improvised sections in our music, mostly absent in the American Klezmer tradition, and tell stories by creating suites of tunes, breaking free of the single tune concept imposed by the three-minute recording."

Bailey's concept of Jewish music owes more to Romanian and Hungarian Gypsy string ensembles than to the more familiar clarinet and drums based klezmer bands. Reminiscent of an even earlier time in the history of recorded Jewish music, the result is fresh, unique, and thoroughly engaging.

The repertoire is a mix of early 20th century Jewish fiddle pieces, original compositions, improvisation, and features material originally recorded by Romanian-born cymbalom master and Lower East Side restauranteur, Joseph Moskowitz.

One aim of the quintet is to explore the repertoire and style of Joseph Moskowitz, the Romanian cymbalom master who settled in New York City around 1913 and was owner and operator of the Moskowitz Wine Cellar on Rivington Street in lower Manhattan, and a restaurant on Second Avenue. The wine cellar was a popular gathering spot for Romanian Jews, who were certainly drawn in by Moskowitz’s cymbolm playing, and the restaurant was patronized by some of the celebrities of the day including H.L. Mencken, Theodore Dreiser and Joseph Pulitzer. Not only did Moskowitz’s repertoire include what we know as klezmer, but it also included ragtime, parlor pieces, and European classical compositions, all filtered through his musical and life experiences, expressed in a fundamentally Jewish way.

We try to remain true to Moskowitz’s spirit of being willing to experiment with klezmer music forms, and at the same time not losing the elements that give this music its Jewish identity.

Pianist and accordionist Art Bailey is active in the improvised and world music scenes, and has appeared with such diverse musical performers as jazz soprano saxophonist Steve Lacy, classical violinist Itzhak Perlman, and the Del McCoury Band. Jewish music has long been a focus of his, and for many years has been a member of the Klezmer Conservatory Band, in addition to working with many of the major participants in the klezmer world.

Read an article about Art Bailey's Orkestra Popilar from the Queens Chronicle.